Under the Same Sky
by TheKeybladeForger
Summary: When the Shadow of Light meets the White Darkness, the Eclipsed One shall appear at the advent of Darkness to unite them. Broken thus in seven pieces, they must work together to with her reforge the blade-of-keys that closed their World; a special world which holds a great and terrible secret. And ever on shall its truth sleep deep within until the World remembers its true name...
1. Emptiness

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

_Day 1: Emptiness_

_When I opened my eyes and saw my very first glimpse of this world, it almost seemed as empty as I felt. Everything was just…gone. I had no idea who I was aside from the name 'Skye,' why I was there, nothing. And yet, in spite of that, there were at least two things I was absolutely sure of:_

_One, this was definitely not the world I came from. _

_And secondly, I wasn't alone._

* * *

><p>Almost immediately after waking up at the edge of an unfamiliar forest, Skye was running for her life from a group of strange black creatures that suddenly attacked her out of nowhere. There was no time for her to think, only move. And so she ran. Not really knowing what else to do without some way to defend herself.<p>

How did all this happen?

How could all of her memories have simply vanished just like that? And what _were_ these things chasing after her? What did they want? They seemed so familiar somehow. So were they somehow responsible for her memory loss…?

Even though Skye asked herself all of these things nothing came to mind. Because it was almost like there was nothing left in her heart, no hint of her past for Skye to remember, not even that ache you should feel when you've lost something important but can't remember what. So no answers came. And besides which, now wasn't the time to waste worrying about it. She had to find a way to shake off these creatures before they caught up to her.

Before long, the trees finally began to thin out and Skye could faintly make out some kind of a clearing coming up just a little further up head. And once Skye made it to the very edge of the tree-line the first thing she saw were two boys walking across a large grassy field over to some kind of an army stationed on the other side, who looked like they were eagerly awaiting their arrival. Though, judging from the smug expression on their faces it wasn't in a very welcoming way...

One of them was dressed in long white robes with black trimming down the front and at the bottom hem with two thick belts overlying each other at his waist and a pair of sleek gray-black boots. He was fair-skinned with a net of long golden hair flowing down his back and a pair of lavender tinted shades over his warm amber-colored eyes. And the other boy was dressed in the exact opposite, wearing only a simple black uniform with a white collar that buttoned down the front with short black hair and clear dark eyes.

Realizing that those monsters were right behind her now because she had stayed in that spot too long Skye was just about to dash out of the forest when she saw the other boy jump in front of his friend-the one in black-and shout in alarm- "Yuri, look out!"

Seeing this, her whole body tensed like a coiled spring and she gasped as her heart suddenly jolted in fear at the thought of seeing them get hurt-even though she had no idea who they were-and Skye thought: _I have to get over there_. _I…don't know why, but I want to protect them. Please, give me the strength to do it._ _Give me the power to save them._ And no sooner had the thought crossed her mind that in a blaze of light Skye suddenly found herself standing right in front of them holding some kind of key-shaped weapon in her hand. A weapon that despite being made of metal felt surprisingly warm resting against the palm of her hand and somehow familiar.

Then-as the arrow came rushing straight at Yuri with a low hiss-with a swift uppercut, Skye whirled around and cut the arrow clean in two and it fell down into the grass with a silent clatter.

Lowering her newly found weapon, Skye stared down at it in bewilderment and wondered aloud, "What is this? How did I...?"

_You have gained the power to fight. Now, use it to defend yourself and those you wish to protect. Don't be afraid. And remember to always keep your Light burning strong._

"Huh?" Skye blinked, slowly turning around to try and find where the source of the voice was coming from. But when the voice didn't say anything else she returned her attention back to the two boys and asked them unsurely, "Are you two alright…?"

Before either of them could form an answer, the ground started to shake and the sky abruptly darkened above them. It was almost as if the sun had fallen right out of the sky and its absence plunged everything into a near total darkness. However, it immediately became clear that this wasn't the case when everyone looked up; for what actually blotted out the sun was a creature even bigger and blacker than the smaller shadows Skye had encountered before back in the forest.

It was a giant pitch black monster-so black in fact that it seemed to suck in all the remaining light around it like an empty void with a huge heart-shaped crevasse cut out of its stomach that they could see all the way through to the other side. Its arms were corded with thick and powerful-looking muscles, long clawed fingers, with a pair of shriveled black wings protruding from its broad shoulders. The only part of its entire body that _wasn't_ completely black were its glowing yellow eyes peering out from behind the tendrils of darkness obscuring most of its expressionless face.

"W-what's going on? Who is that girl? What the hell is that thing?!" the King in charge of the army those two were heading towards shouted fearfully as the colossal black creature slowly rose up to its full height, probably thinking that it was one of us who had summoned it to destroy their forces and panicked. "Shoot! Shoot! Shoot them! I no longer care! Kill both the Demon King and Saralegui!"

After that, a volley of arrows starting raining down in a vast torrent on both the three of them _and_ the creature. But as they descended upon the dark being looming above them, the arrows simply disintegrated upon impact before they could even hit it or the ground where they stood, consumed by its darkness. And in response to their attack, it turned away from Skye and the others, lifted one of its massive arms, and smashed one of their towers. Opening a pool of darkness where its fist landed and summoned even more of those things that attacked Skye when she first woke up.

"Go," Skye told Yuri and Saralegui after cutting down several of the smaller creatures that had come after them, having heard their names from when Saralegui called out Yuri's to warn him and from when that King when he shouted his earlier. "I'll handle this."

As if finally recovering from the shock of everything that was happening, Yuri asked her hastily, "Wait, who are-"

"Just go," she told him, looking back at all the monsters tearing further into the opposing army. But then, Skye found myself adding as more of an afterthought, "Besides, don't you have someone you need to protect?"

"You mean Sara? Yeah…" Yuri nodded before looking at his friend with a confident smile. "You're right! He just tried to protect me so I should do the same for him!" looking worried though, he started to ask, "But, what about-"

Narrowing his gaze ever so slightly, his friend Saralegui cut him off and asked Skye the same thing Yuri was about to, "What about you? Will you be alright on your own?"

Surprised, Skye glanced back at Saralegui and admitted, "I...don't know for sure, but, I feel like this is something I have to do. Even though I have no what's going on, when I saw you try to save your friend I…"

Trailing off and looking down at the Keyblade again, gripping it tighter, Skye slowly rose it up to eye level and without so much as another word to either of them, she charged forward without looking back. Driven only by an unexplained and passionate desire to protect them, no matter what danger she had to face. And besides, with her memories in the state they were in right now she had nothing to lose so why not protect someone else instead who still did?


	2. The Keyblade

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

**Note: **Hey there, so here's the scoop in regards to this story. After looking at the general views and alert history of the fan-fiction stories I have posted so far I decided to go ahead and delete the previous remake of _'Nothing Whole; Nothing Broken' _called '_Darkness into Light'_ because it had the lowest status and start it over one final time since I still like the character I was using. It's just that I got lazy and was reusing a ton of the content from an older project as filler to fit her story and it only ended up dragging her and the story down. Besides that, lately there's been a TON of new Kingdom Hearts lore and info revealed so that didn't help things either. Because when it first came out I wanted to use a bunch of it in my fan fictions but since I had already established a lot of things in the story already I felt like adding anything after the fact would just confuse both the readers and myself. So anyway, in honor of the long awaited release of Kingdom Hearts 2.5 I hope you guys like this redo better than the last one.

_Day 1: The Keyblade_

_As my fingers closed around the hilt of the key-shaped blade, I felt like I had regained a part of myself again. It wasn't much, but this faint feeling of nostalgia towards the mysterious weapon I was holding in my hands-a feeling that may or may not be real-was enough to give me the courage to fight despite my confusion. Still, now that I think about it I might have only been fooling myself because I wanted to feel something-anything-that was real._

_And more than anything, I wanted to understand why holding this weapon felt so natural to me; as if it was the only part of me that still remembered that I was meant to use it to defend the innocent against the forces of darkness. To fight for the sake of someone like Yuri, who I could feel was full of a pure light that made even someone as broken as me want to do everything in my power in order to protect it. _

_Besides, I was the one who asked for this power, so since I've lost sight of the light within myself, I will fight to protect theirs. That way for just a brief moment…I can forget about the fear of not knowing what would happen to me now._

* * *

><p>"You guys!" Yuri shouted once he and Sara made it safely back to the other side of the field to meet up with the rest of his friends. "I'm so glad you're all ok."<p>

"What the hell just happened out there Yuri?!" Wolfram asked sharply, taking his shoulders and looking him over worriedly, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Yuri shook his head and gesturing at Sara as he explained, "No, I'm fine Wolfram, Sara saved me from getting shot by jumping in front of me just in time. Well-" looking back over to where Skye was still fighting off the monsters though he admitted, "-sort of. I mean he tried to anyway but then that girl came out of nowhere and..."

"Girl?" Conrad asked, following his gaze, "You mean that person that appeared in the light we saw before?"

Yuri nodded, "Yeah. She just materialized right in front of us. And get this: we saw her weapon came out of thin air too! It was so cool! It's shaped like a giant key or something and she's using it to fight off those creatures."

"What about _that_ one?" Gunter asked in a deeply troubled tone and gesturing behind them at the big one, "Where did it come from?"

"No clue," Yuri replied, turning back to face them. "But that girl said she would handle it and told me to protect Sara so we both hurried to get back over here as fast as we could before more of those monsters showed up. But honestly, I'm really worried about her you guys. Something seemed...I dunno, kinda off about her. Like when she first started talking to us it was like she was confused and didn't really know what was going on either."

"Well either way, we have to get out of here before that thing decides to attack _us_ next. After all from the looks of things Big Shimaron isn't doing that well either so I doubt we'll be able to do much better against it," Murata advised grimly. "We've been given a chance to escape while both Ranjeel and those creatures are distracted so we had better take advantage of that while we still can."

Sara nodded and said, "I agree. However, it was only because of that that we were given this chance so perhaps we should wait a little longer to see if we can help her in some way. We can't just leave and let her fight such an enemy alone. Poor thanks that would be after she saved our lives."

Wolfram however, shook his head and argued, "We may not get another chance though! I say we do as she said and just go before Big Shimaron tries to-"

"Wait a moment, Wolfram. Look-" Conrad said in astonishment, pointing towards Ranjeel's army, "-they're retreating."

When they all turned to look, they saw that Conrad was right. Ranjeel's whole army really was retreating; although, from their point of view, it must have looked like they were running away with their tail between their legs as they stumbled over each other to get away as fast as they possibly could from there. Leaving only them, Skye, and the large monster she was fighting in the heavy rain that had started to fall, darkening the sky above them even further.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, during their battle, Skye carefully studied the movements of her enemy while looking for an opening and attacked it wherever she could safely reach, which was mainly its arms and legs. Of course, all the while it still continued to summon more of the smaller ones occasionally but those were easy enough for her to cut down now that she had a weapon. And before long Skye noticed that its movements were getting slower and it was growing more desperate and threw everything it had left at her.<p>

However, it wasn't the only one getting tired.

Skye could also feel her arms and the weapon in her hands steadily growing heavier by the minute and knew that she needed to end this fight quickly. So after circling it one more time and waiting for it to throw its fist into the ground again-which she predicted would go down all the way up to its shoulder to reach into the darkness-Skye ran towards it at full speed and leapt high into the air with her weapon and went straight for its head for the final blow.

As she did this however, the creature suddenly looked up at Skye just long enough to pull its arm back out again to try and land an attack of its own. Her eyes widened as she realized that it was doing this but it was too late for Skye to pull back now, she had to finish the attack. And she wasn't entirely sure how she did it, but when she reached down deep inside of herself for the strength to keep going Skye felt a surge of power rush into her. Then as her weapon began to glow brightly from within Skye drove the full impact of her blade against the creature just as its fist made contact with her at the same time and Skye was able to force her way through it and defeated it once and for all…

It was over.

As its body faded away back into the darkness from whence it came and disappeared there was a bright flash of light from as something flew out of its chest into the sky, as being freed from this creature. Everything seemed to slow down for Skye as she skillfully landed on the other side of where that creature had just been moments before. But once everything started resuming normal speed again the moment her feet safely hit the wet grass everything went strangely quiet except for the soft patter of thick and heavy rain streaking down her face as she glanced over to where Yuri and Sara stood beside another group of people she hadn't noticed before.

And then, she heard the voice again as it told her:

_Go with them. They will help you find the hidden truth that sleeps deep within you, a truth that they also need to know. All you have to do is trust in yourself and follow it wherever it may lead. The power of the Keyblade will also help show you the path you need to take. And as long as you trust in the Light within yourself and others, it will become your strength whenever you have need of it…just like it did for that boy you just saved._

After that, Skye looked up at the storm-tossed sky above her. Feeling hopeful for the first time since all this began before soundlessly crumpling to the ground, utterly exhausted in both mind and body because of everything that had happened. Some of them things that she couldn't even remember. But at least now…Skye knew that she could protect herself and in that way protect everyone else too from this strange enemies that have been unleashed upon this world. An enemy that may very well have followed her here from whatever forgotten world Skye was originally from.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Skye's eyes fluttered open and she woke up alone in an unfamiliar room. Then again, everything was unfamiliar to her at this point so even if she <em>had<em> been there before, Skye wouldn't have recognized it.

It took her a moment to remember what happened, but when she did Skye got up and walked over to the door to her room. She tried the handle, but it was locked. And since she had no way of knowing which side had taken her Skye thought that it would probably be best if she escaped. But how? And what if they knew something about her? Was it worth the risk of staying here to find out…?

Skye was still wondering what she should do when the door opened suddenly and she leapt back and instinctively summoned the Keyblade as a brown haired man opened it for Yuri, Saralegui, and the other people she saw before passing out. And they looked surprised when they saw that Skye was already awake, and looking more than a little startled herself that her weapon had materialized directly into her hand at her beckoned call.

Slowly closing the door behind them, the brunet took a few careful steps towards Skye and assured her, "It's alright. We're not going to hurt you. We just want to talk."

After forcing herself to relax her stance once she realized they weren't a threat, Skye nodded and then lowered her weapon, dismissing it again. Which-again-for some reason felt like a completely natural thing to do.

"Her hair and eyes…they really are both black," Gunter gasped, staring at Skye with wonder. "I thought her hair only appeared black because of the rain but now I can clearly see for myself that His Majesty was right about her."

"But who is she? Where did she come from?" Yosak asked suspiciously, crossing his arms. "The young man and His Eminence should be the only Double-Blacks in this world. And besides, why did she appear _here_ of all places?"

Confused by their unusual comments Skye asked aloud, "_'Double-Black?' _What's that supposed to mean?" Then she happened to look over at the window and wandered over to it, lightly touching the cool glass with the tips of her fingers as she looked at her reflection and see what the heck they were talking about. That's when Skye saw her face for the very first time since losing her memories…

Her eyes were a deep shade of black although for some reason her left eye was much lighter-almost more of a dark gray or silver color-and her hair was black too. The bangs were cut to frame her face with short, layered spikes while the rest of it flowed freely down Skye's shoulders in long wavy currents.

There wasn't really anything particularly striking about her looks in her opinion except for maybe her left eye. And personally-to Skye at least-she felt her physical appearance was pretty normal. As for her clothing, that was what Skye thought really made her stand out from the rest of them.

She was wearing a silvery-white blouse with the design of a thick black 'X' spread across her stomach with small black triangles crowning her shoulders and short white half-sleeves that ended just above the elbow. And finally, Skye wore a pair of close-fitting white pants made of the same material with one side that was shorter than the other cutting off about halfway down her thigh with a black legging decorated with a white 'x' just underneath it, and finally a pair of sleek gray-black boots with silver lining and a crown-shaped design covering the toe.

_So, this is what I look like,_ Skye thought to herself, reaching up to touch her cheek in wonder when-

"Hey uh-" Yuri began nervously, "-are you ok…?"

Glancing back at him, Skye nodded and after dropping her hand limply to her side as she asked them unsurely, "I don't know. I guess so. But, what happened…? Where am I?"

"You collapsed right after defeating that terrible creature so we brought you to my castle," Saralegui explained, smiling softly as he walked up beside Skye. "It was very brave of you to face something like that all by yourself just to save us. We are both in your debt."

"You're...that boy from before. The one that man called _'Saralegui...'_" Skye recalled, turning to face him with a puzzled expression.

"You can call me Sara. What about you? What's your name?" Sara asked her with another soft smile.

"It's Skye…I think. That's the only name I remember anyway," Skye admitted, averting her gaze as she told them everything that happened. "I woke up alone in the forest with no memory of how I got there when those creatures appeared and suddenly attacked me. They chased me all the way to the clearing where I saw you and your friend crossing it to the army on the other side. And the moment you called out his name and tried to save him I-" Looking over at Yuri, she placed one hand over her heart and told them sincerely, "-my heart suddenly clenched in fear at the thought of either of you getting hurt and I felt this overwhelming desire to protect you, no matter what danger I had to face. So with all my heart, I asked for the power to save you and the Keyblade appeared to answer my call. And when it did I heard a familiar voice. It told me to use this power to protect you and to always keep my Light burning strong. I don't know exactly what that means but either way, I'm glad I was able to help."

"Hmph, do you honestly expect us to believe that you have amnesia? That seems _awfully_ convenient…" Wolfram snickered rather rudely.

"Believe me or don't, that's your choice," Skye said with a small shrug. "It won't change the truth. I really don't remember anything, but…" trailing off and walking towards Yuri she said with absolute clarity, "…for some reason, I knew _you_. I feel like we've met somewhere before a long time ago. Why else would I feel this way? This sharp painful ache in my heart at the thought of losing you? There's still so much I don't understand, but this ache is the first real thing I've felt towards anything since I lost everything else. So please, just tell me. Who _are_ you…?"


	3. Unyielding

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

**Note: **Hey guys, so I'm really glad to see that things are going well with this story so far. However, I could _really_ use some reviews so even if it's just something small I'd like to know what you think and if you have any suggestions. By the way, do you guys like the whole _'journal'_ thing I've been doing at the beginning of each chapter? I thought that since the previous version of this story was in first person I would at least try to do something like this to show more of what Skye is thinking without having to do the whole story from only her point of view, let me know what you all think!

_Day 1: Unyielding_

_It was obvious that they didn't believe me at first when I told them I had lost all of my memories. And I didn't blame them. I could still hardly believe it myself. But I didn't see the point of lying to them about it-at least now that I knew they weren't my enemies-so I told them about everything I'd seen, what I felt, and shared my own reservations about what was going on too._

_It was strange, they were all total strangers to me and yet…I felt like I could trust them completely. If I didn't then I would have tried to escape from Sara's castle right then and there. Besides, that voice told me that these people were the only ones who could help me discover the truth about myself and that it was something they needed to know. But what could it be? Did it have something to do Yuri and this strange feeling I have that we've met before…?_

* * *

><p>"Me? I'm Yuri Shibuya," Yuri blinked-blushing slightly because she was standing so close to him-before he apologized. "But, I don't think that's quite the answer you're looking for. Look, I'm really sorry, but…we really haven't met before. Believe me, I think I would remember it if I met someone that looks like you."<p>

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Wolfram asked, eyeing Yuri suspiciously, making him laugh nervously in response.

With a disappointed sigh, Skye just shook her head as she took a few steps back and replied, "No…I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that."

"Excuse me, but aren't you all forgetting something more important?" Sara pointed out, making everyone turn to face him. "Regardless of _why_ she did it the important thing was that Skye here was able to defeat a powerful monster that not even Ranjeel's whole army could defeat and saved our lives. That's got to count for something."

"I guess that's true," Wolfram finally relented, crossing his arms. "But I'm still not buying into the whole _'I-have-amnesia'_ act."

"Wolfram!" Yuri frowned, about to scold him for being insensitive when Skye spoke up.

"It's ok Yuri," Skye said calmly. Then, after taking a moment to find the right words, Skye surprised herself when she told them, "I understand how suspicious my story must sound to all of you. And if it wasn't true, I probably wouldn't believe it myself. So for some reason or another I lost all of my memories and then as soon as I wake up I'm chased to the _exact_ place where all of you were, as if I was lead there on purpose. And this strange feeling…there _is_ a chance that it isn't real. That all it is is something that was instilled in my heart so that I would be forced to fight. But even if what I felt towards you isn't real, when the Keyblade appeared in my hand I remembered that I've faced those creatures somewhere before. That is something I know now-without a doubt-_is_ real. From the first moment I touched it I could feel its familiar warmth spreading through in my fingers and my body seemed to already know how to wield it in battle. So let me ask you this: if all of you agree that what I did was nothing but some kind of elaborate trap, and you seriously believe I'm here to hurt Yuri, then why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"

"What?" They gasped, utterly shocked that Skye would say something like that so callously.

Backing away from everyone and glancing out the window again, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed and her forehead resting against the glass, Skye continued, "The way I see it, the two most dangerous kinds of people you will ever have to face are those who have everything to lose, and those with nothing to lose. And I don't have anything. Not even the faintest trace of missing anyone dear to me, of feeling such a deep hurt that I tried to escape from it by forgetting, I don't feel any of that like I should. So can you really blame me for falling for it so easily if my very first spark of feeling anything familiar really was just a lie or my own delusion? I mean even without my memories shouldn't I feel _something_ to remind me of what I've lost? And I could have just as easily chosen to fight for that other King since I didn't know which side was in the right or what in the world was going on. But in the end, I chose you. So you can think whatever you like about me, but just remember that as far as I'm concerned I don't serve under anyone. Even so, I will continue to do what I think is right and protect those who can't protect themselves from this new threat. Besides-"

"Besides?" Gunter urged Skye to continue with her thought.

Closing her eyes, Skye replied, "Before I passed out and I saw the rest of you join Sara and Yuri in that field after the battle was over, that voice also said this to me: '_Go with them. They will help you find the hidden truth that sleeps deep within you, a truth that they also need to know. All you have to do is trust in yourself and follow it wherever it may lead. The power of the Keyblade will also help show you the path you need to take. And as long as you trust in the Light within yourself and others, it will become your strength whenever you have need of it…just like it did for that boy you just saved._' That's when I knew I made the right choice. But more importantly, it gave me courage. And with that courage I _will_ find the truth that will guide me back to the place where I need to be and where I truly belong, even if I have to do it alone."

* * *

><p>"Well, this has certainly been an interesting development," Sara chuckled lightly as he thought back on what happened in the bedroom just now after he and Berias left to prepare the ship for the rest of them escape in. "Yet another Double Black has come into our world gifted with a very unusual kind of power. I'm almost starting to wonder if they're <em>all<em> like that and that's what originally gave rise to all the legends and myths about those who possess that rare coloring."

"Your Highness," Berias commented, carefully glancing over at his King as they walked down the hallway, "What do you intend to do now that your plan has failed?"

Sara looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, "Failed? Oh I wouldn't say that. If anything, my point still came across and I've become closer friends with Yuri, which was the whole idea. And you know-" he smiled knowingly, "I'm sure that it was actually a relief to you that the arrow never actually hit its mark. Even so, you did a fine job despite the unexpected outcome. Although I really would have liked to see Yuri's power firsthand, at least that black monster deigned to do the job of laying waste to Ranjeel's army for me and that coward ran off with his tail between his legs. I'll be sure to cherish the memory."

Berias nodded and turned to face Saralegui full on as he asked, "So do you think she is telling us the truth? That all of the memories concerning her past from before she met you and King Yuri are really gone?"

Saralegui shrugged his shoulders slightly, "Who can say? But then again, from where I stood she seemed quite sincere. What I am _more_ interested in is that mysterious Keyblade of hers and what it can do." And with a sinister glint in his eyes, Sara smiled ever so slightly as he said aloud, "Either way, she could prove quite useful..."

* * *

><p>As we waited for Sara to return and after everyone was introduced properly, Skye stood off to the side while Yuri and the others were busy discussing the current situation. But even from afar she could tell that they were still having a hard time deciding what to do with her. After all, even without her wielding this mysterious weapon called a <em>'Keyblade'<em> Skye's exotic appearance was bound to draw attention if they just let her go off on her own.

Still, since she couldn't really wrap her head around most of what they were talking about anyway Skye figured she'd stay out of their way until Yuri and the others were done mulling over what she said to them. And at some point Conrad separated from the group and walked over to Skye as she continued to lean against the window frame, staring vacantly outside into the night.

"Is everything alright?" Conrad asked in concern. "You've been very quiet since King Saralegui left, is there something on your mind?"

He waited patiently for her answer and then finally-without looking at him-Skye said, "Not really. I'm just keeping a lookout."

"For what?" Conrad asked, following her gaze down to the courtyard below.

Glancing over at him and then back outside, she replied automatically, "For those black creatures. I just have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of them. And we have to be ready for them this time, regardless of whether or not they're after me in particular or if they just attack people indiscriminately like we saw them do when that man ordered his men to attack us."

After a brief pause, Conrad smiled kindly as he told Skye, "Just so you know, I believe you about your lost memories. The way you spoke to us earlier proves that. You were completely frank with us and honest about your feelings. As for Wolfram's behavior, try not to hold it against him. He's just feeling a bit apprehensive after what almost happened to His Highness, we all were."

"Yeah well…" Skye began with a weak smile in return, "…at least his heart is in the right place."

Just then, something caught her eye down below and Skye leaned in closer to get a better look. At first, Skye thought it was only one of Sara's soldiers passing by on patrol until she saw their full silhouette detach itself from the rest of the shadows and slowly make their way across the courtyard.

Noticing her reaction, Conrad asked, "What is it?"

Pointing to where she saw the figure, Skye answered seriously, "I think there's someone down there… "

Just as Conrad was about to lean forward to get a closer look as well, Skye noticed the glint of something medal of the corner of her eye right from down below as it came rushing at the window at full speed. "Get back!" Skye shouted, shoving Conrad away from the window as hard as she could right before it exploded and a giant armored hand gripped her tightly and started to pull Skye out the destroyed window.

"SKYE!" Conrad shouted, reaching out for her outstretched hand. And for a moment, their hands touched and when they did it started to glow and something very strange happened and he heard a voice echoing in his mind-

_On the back of these Wayward Winds, let this 'key' carry our voice across the ages in the hopes that one day the other 'Pieces of Seven' will rejoin once more. Until then, let us pray that in the future they will all return to 'her' and mend what was broken…_

Stunned by the unexpected force of the voice echoing throughout his being, Conrad was unable to keep ahold of Skye's hand and it was torn from his grasp. And as Skye was pulled further away she saw a glimpse of Sara and Berias bursting through the door before they were too far away for her to see.


	4. The Darkness Within Us All

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

_Day 2: The Darkness Within Us All_

_When those fearsome metal fingers wrapped around my torso, I couldn't break free in time so I instinctively reached out to Conrad for help. And for a moment Conrad held a firm grip on my hand until a strange light passed between us and he fell back, our hands slipping apart._

_But what was that light? It felt so warm and familiar, just like when I wield the Keyblade. I wish I knew what it meant…_

_Anyway, after I lost sight of the others and was pulled outside, a peculiar-looking man came strolling towards me, looking both smug and…to be honest almost a little crazed. Clearly there was something wrong with him and there was a dark aura curling off his skin almost like smoke or a fine mist._

_But what surprised me most of all was that the creature that held me wasn't attacking him as soon as he drew closer to us. Did that mean he was the one controlling it? Or-more likely-was _it_ controlling him?_

* * *

><p>"Conrad!" Yuri shouted, rushing over to where he had fallen, "What happened? Are you hurt?"<p>

"I'm alright, but-Skye thought she saw someone down below us and when I went to go look a large metallic hand came rushing at the window and grabbed her, pulling her away from me," Conrad replied hastily as he began pulling himself upright, drawing his sword, and then turned to his younger brother. "Wolfram, take His Highness to safety, now!"

"What about Skye?!" Yuri exclaimed, struggling to get out of Wolfram's grip on his arm. "We have to do something!"

"I understand that Yuri," Conrad said a bit more gently though there was still an edge of authority to his voice. "But first we need to get outside and find out just what we're dealing with here. Skye will have to fend for herself until then."

Stepping forward, Sara informed everyone grimly, "As much as I'm sure she would appreciate the help all of you need to escape right now or it will be too late. I just received a message that more messengers from Big Shimaron are on their way even as we speak and if you're all still here it could prove disastrous."

Gunter shook his head and said in a deeply troubled tone, "There has to be _something_ we can still do. Because even I feel that leaving her in a situation like this is-"

"Guys!" Yuri shouted in exasperation once he finally managed to break free and made a b-line towards the door. "This is no time for chit-chat! Come on!"

And like so many times before-more times than they could even begin to count-Yuri recklessly ran off on his own to try and help Skye while the rest of them gave close chase. However, unlike before Yuri now felt the very same kind of distress that Skye described to him before. He was afraid of losing her too, and it _wasn't_ because that was just how Yuri usually was in any situation where someone needed his help. It was like some deep part of him was calling out to her, something that he didn't quite understand yet…

But what changed…? Why did Yuri suddenly feel so protective of Skye after only just finding out what her name was? Was it a feeling of obligation to repay her for saving them from that monster, or something else? Whatever it was, it kept Yuri going until it felt as if his lungs were about to burst and he came barreling through the nearest door that lead outside and froze on the spot when he saw what was standing there in the middle of the courtyard.

* * *

><p>As soon as everyone made it out, they saw that Sara's guards had the courtyard completely surrounded but no one dared approach the monstrosity before them. And what was strange was that its presence felt almost <em>exactly<em> the same as the other creature they faced before, and yet this one looked entirely different-save for its glowing yellow eyes.

Unlike the giant one from the field, this monster was only about half its size and parts of its body was covered in thick plates of dark, twisted, amethyst-colored armor over its arms, legs, and torso. And in the middle of its chest there was a large pitch-black emblem outlined in red with thorns crossing over each other at the center of the heart. Then lastly, there were large links of spiked chain hanging from its wrists and an oversized blade resting across its broad back.

And below it stood none other than Gerald, his hair disheveled but for some reason looking quite pleased with himself as the creature lowered its hand so that he and Skye were at eye level. "So _you're_ that strange girl he's after huh? Another one of those damned Double-Blacks? Well no matter, once I hand you over I'll be granted even greater power! With the power of the Heartless by my side I will surely succeed this time and everything in Small Shimaron will soon belong to me! Ah ha ha ha ha!"

"Gerald?! You did this?" Sara demanded with a heated glare, for once honestly surprised that such a thing was happening that he did not predict in some way. "How did you escape?"

Turning around ever so slowly, Gerald laughed when he saw Yuri standing behind him and snickered, "Ah, well isn't this a surprise. Again, I would have thought that you had enough sense to leave while you still can Demon King! Though as soon as I'm through with you…you will be a Heartless King!"

As if prompted by some unheard order, the creature behind Gerald lifted its free hand for the hilt of its wicked looking sword and took a menacing step forward, giving them a deep groan that sounded almost like heavy metal grinding against itself. Then the Heartless slowly drew the blade and dropped it to the ground with a loud clang, after which it lifted Skye and crudely threw her aside as it rushed at them.

"NO!" Skye cried, scrambling back up and trying to do what she did the last time she summoned the Keyblade and warp to where they were. But it was no use, the Heartless was moving too fast.

That's when-in desperation-Skye lifted the Keyblade high into the air and a faint line appeared on the ground around the courtyard and flared up to create a barrier between them and the oncoming Heartless. And not a moment too soon either, because Yuri was standing right where it was attacking. As soon as the Heartless struck the magical barrier Skye had created however, the blade it was attacking with rebounded and the Heartless staggered back a few steps before slashing at the barrier again and again with a restless fury.

"Nice trick," Gerald jeered, drawing his own sword as he lunged at Skye, "But that won't be enough to save them!"

Lifting her Keyblade to parry the attack, Skye caught his sword at the hilt of her blade and shoved him back before counteracting it with an attack of her own. And as they exchanged blows, once there was an opening Skye glanced over at them and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Get out of here!"

"Hmm. Looks like I'll have to shut you up first if I want to reach the Demon King and Saralegui," Gerald snarled as he pulled back from Skye and called out to the Heartless that was still trying to get at Yuri and the others. "That's enough! We'll get to them later; now help me put this foolish girl in her place!"

As soon as he barked that order the Heartless immediately gave up on trying to break the barrier down to get at Yuri and honed in on Skye instead.

"Skye, look out!" Yuri cried, banging against the barrier with his fists before turning to his friends and begging them. "Please do something!"

"We can't. Not with this barrier in place," Berias stated, touching the barrier in order to sense whether it was created by magic or Esoteric powers, only to find that it was neither. Or at least it was a kind of magic he had never sensed before. "Unless we can find a way to breach it there is nothing we can do."

"I didn't even know Skye could use magic like this," Gunter commented, "Why couldn't we sense it?"

Murata shook his head, "Your guess is as good as mine. What I'm more concerned about is what Gerald just said about Shibuya. What did he mean about him becoming a _'Heartless'_ King…?"

"Damn it!" Wolfram grumbled, "We don't have time to deal with this! If more messengers are on their way and we can't reach her then shouldn't we try to escape now? Look Yuri, I know you want us to stay and help her but we can't afford to stay in Small Shimaron any longer! Gerald's right about that. We should have left a long time ago."

Shaking his head in denial, Yuri said firmly, "No. I'm not going to abandon her any more than I would have abandoned Sara. Skye saved our lives even though she had no reason to. And she's fighting for us even now after we doubted her. Besides, Skye admitted that she was feeling a little confused about knowing me but wanted to help us anyway so I don't think she's a bad person. Anybody could have made a mistake like that when they've lost their memories like she has. That's why we at least have to try to help her, because if we don't then who else will?"

"I will," Sara said unexpectedly, taking Yuri by the shoulder. "I promise I will help her in any way I can but Lord Bielefeld is right, you need to go back home before this situation escalates any further. And as it stands now, there's really nothing else you can do. Not without letting Big Shimaron know you are still here."

"But Sara I…" Yuri muttered when suddenly, the barrier flared brightly and then faded away. "Huh? What just happened?"

"Look! Over there!" Yosak pointed to where Skye was doing her best to dodge the Heartless's attacks as well as preventing Gerald from catching her again.

Skye was breathing heavily and looked as if she was on the verge of collapsing since she still hadn't fully recovered from her last battle even though she slept for almost the entire day. Her vision was just starting to blur when Gerald came at Skye once again and in desperation she shouted, "Leave me alone!" and stabbed him with her Keyblade.

Obviously this wasn't what Skye planned to do and her eyes widened in horror as Gerald staggered back, clutching at his chest as it began to shine from within. But they saw that her Keyblade hadn't actually pierced his flesh, but rather it passed right through his chest and went directly into his body. After that Gerald's body vanished and a light floated out of his chest only to be wrapped in darkness and form yet another Heartless bearing the same emblem as the other one she had yet to defeat that retreated immediately after it was formed.

Dropping her Keyblade in disgust, Skye took a few steps back and kept shaking her head in denial, "No. This isn't what I wanted…I didn't mean to-but because of me his heart was-" Clutching her head as it throbbed, she winced, "The Heartless…I remember them now. Those without hearts, yet they are born from their darkness. And there is darkness within every heart…even mine. And even his…"

"Skye! Snap out of it!" Conrad called, watching as the large one began slowly approaching her again.

"They came through the Door and destroyed everything," Skye muttered, backing away still further. "My entire world…fell to darkness. Everyone disappeared. My friends, my family, and all those innocent people. Why was I the only one who survived…? As long as I wield the Keyblade, I can never be free. They'll always find me because they're afraid of it. No one is safe as long as I'm around." Looking up finally, Skye summoned the Keyblade back to her hand and called with a sad smile, "Sara, Yuri, Conrad, Wolfram, Yosak, Gunter, Berias, Murata, I'm sorry. And thank you for everything but I have to go. You're not safe around me. No one is…"

And with that Skye turned around and ran off, with the Heartless following behind her.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

_Back during Skye's first battle with the giant Heartless in the field, as Gerald sat idly in his cell-cursing his fate-an unexpected visitor dressed in a black coat appeared seemingly out of nowhere and approached the barred window. At first Gerald didn't notice him because he was staring blankly at the floor trying to remember what Sara made him do to no avail. And it wasn't until the figure spoke that he jerked and leapt to his feet._

"_Calm down, I'm not the executioner if that is what you think," the figure reassured him. "I'm here to make you an offer."_

_Glaring at him suspiciously, Gerald replied, "If you think I'm desperate enough to accept the offer of some stranger just because I've been humiliated by Saralegui then I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place. I don't know who you are, but I will not be made a fool out of again."_

_Smirking, the figure replied, "It is Saralegui who shall be made the fool if he thinks he can stand against the power I'm willing to offer you. Not to mention you can get your revenge on the Demon King as well. And all I ask in return is the girl he currently has with him."_

_After a long silence, Gerald finally stated, "I'm listening…"_

"_That girl and I both come from another world, but she has a very special gift that I need. And now that the pathway to this world has finally been opened, dark creatures known as the _'Heartless'_ will soon lay siege upon it in search of this girl. For they fear the might of the weapon she wields and the other powers sleeping deep within her," closing his eyes, the figure continued, "Presently, she has lost all of her memories to prevent us from awakening that power. However, she cannot escape her fate. So my offer to you is this: I will give you the power to control the Heartless so that you may have your revenge against the Demon King and King Saralegui but you must procure the girl for me. Use force if you have to but I need her alive."_

"_Why?" Gerald asked curiously._

"_That is not your concern," the figure stated coldly. "Now, will you take my offer or shall I leave you here to rot and wallow in misery because of the defeat you've suffered today at the hand of a fledgling king..?"_


	5. Truth and Trust

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

_Day 2: Trust and Truth_

_As I ran further and further away from Sara's castle all I could think was '_What have I done?'_ I was only trying to protect myself but I never wanted to harm that man, however bad he might have been..._

_Those Heartless that first attacked me in the forest, out in that field, and the one that _'Gerald'_ summoned to capture me, it turns out that all of them were after me after all. I put everyone in danger. That's why I have to become stronger, for their sake as well as my own. I may have lost my memories, but as long as I have my life I can keep going._

_I lost my home world too, though I still can't remember exactly how it happened. All I know is that the Heartless have something to do with it. So to make sure the same thing doesn't happen here I need to find out where they're all coming from. That, and who's commanding them. Because before Gerald was consumed by the darkness he said that someone gave him the ability to control the Heartless and that he would be given command over more of them if he handed me over to someone. If I can find out who that person is, maybe I can put a stop to this before anyone else gets hurt._

* * *

><p>Not too long after Skye led the armor-plated Heartless away from the castle and the others, the real culprit responsible for Gerald's escape, a man dressed in a black coat whose face was completely obscured by his hood, revealed himself by stepping out of some kind of dark portal in the middle of the courtyard-where Gerald had been only moments before-and said, "It would seem that Gerald's will wasn't strong enough to control the Heartless for very long after all. To have yielded to the darkness in his heart so easily like this, what a waste. Still, he performed his task well and shall be well received by his new comrades."<p>

And when the figure slowly turned to face them directly, Berias took a few steps forward and demanded sharply, "Who are you?"

Instead of answering him immediately, the figure glanced at each of them in turn and replied curtly, "As you may have already guessed, I am the one who offered the man you once knew as Gerald power over the Heartless in exchange for Skye's capture. However-" and with a dismissive wave of his hand, he continued, "-when Skye released Gerald's heart from his body by accident using the Keyblade's power-since his heart had already been sullied by the darkness inside of him-you saw what became of him. That pitiful creature you saw is his own darkness transmuted into flesh. An empty creature with no emotions, no sense of self, with the single-minded instinct to consume other people's hearts in order to multiply and return everything to the Great Darkness from whence everything began and will one day end." Then, regarding Yuri directly he asked, "Now tell me _'Demon'_ King, doesn't that sound familiar?"

"What are you talking about," Yuri demanded angrily. "And why are you after Skye? Answer me!"

"Yuri, step back!" Conrad warned him, putting his arm in front of Yuri so he wouldn't approach the hooded figure carelessly. "He's dangerous."

"Perhaps," the figure admitted, heedless of the soldiers surrounding him as he took a few steps closer. "However, I personally don't consider you a threat as long as you stay out of our way and refrain from meddling in affairs that don't concern you. And while I must use whatever means necessary to bring Skye back with me, since my target is no longer here, there is no need for me to linger. Still I will give you a fair warning. The next time we meet, if Skye is with you and you refuse to give her to us then I will have no choice but to fight you myself. And as much as I would enjoy testing _your_ strength in battle too, I'm afraid that this is where we must say goodbye." And just as the sun slowly began to rise, he pointed towards Yuri and the others and said, "As a parting gift, I will tell you this. Your meeting with Skye wasn't an accident, it happened because it was foretold. And her appearance in this world is the sign that we've been waiting for for a very long time, the sign that this world is where we will find the lost _'Pieces of Seven.' _And when they have gathered together, the power that is sleeping deeply in the bottom of Skye's heart shall awaken and re-forge a most ancient_ 'Key,'_ one that is far more ancient than the shapeless ones you carry…"

"Keys? He can't mean-!" Yosak wondered aloud when the figure simply smiled to himself and stepped back through the dark passageway and disappeared as suddenly as he came before they could demand answers.

* * *

><p><em>I wonder if they escaped safely, <em>Skye thought briefly to herself as she paused to catch her breath and then continued leading the Heartless further away from Sara's castle. But since going into the town below wasn't an option, as it might endanger his citizens, Skye once again took to the forest. And as fate would have it, Skye ended up leading it all the way out to the field where she met everyone.

Then, after a long and arduous fight, Skye finally put an end to the Heartless that Gerald summoned and collapsed against a nearby tree to rest. And as Skye sat there, she began to listen to the sound of the trees swaying in the wind that reminded her of ocean waves lapping upon the shore, breathe in the scent of morning dew, and watch the glittering light passing through the leaves of the canopy above casting dancing shadows along the ground. It reminded Skye of the home she lost when the Heartless came and her calm existence was thrust into a violent maelstrom...

Her world, her home, it was all gone now. But from the little she remembered of it, Skye's home was very similar to this place. It was a simple quiet place on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by tall trees and rolling hills where the wind would make the grass ripple like waves on the water.

"I wonder. Was it that mysterious light that passed between Conrad and me that awaken these memories?" Skye wondered aloud. "I can remember it so clearly now, my home, and when the Heartless came and destroyed it. But I still...can't seem to recall anything else, like _how_ it happened." Closing her eyes, Skye took a deep breath and opened them again slowly, sighing, "It's better than nothing but...what am I supposed to do now? I can't go back, but I also don't have anywhere else to go. No matter _where_ I go I'll always be _in_ danger and _be_ a danger to those around me. Still, I'm the only one who knows the truth about the Heartless and they need to know what they really are as well as how to fight them…or this world too will fall into darkness."

* * *

><p>As reluctant as Yuri was to leave, somehow they were finally able to convince him to board the ship that Sara prepared for them once they were sure that the danger had passed. Even so, Yuri wasn't happy about it at all. Not only that, but he was still concerned about what the man in the black coat said about Skye.<p>

In the meantime, Sara-after bidding them a hasty farewell-ordered his men to start working on repairing the damaged part of the castle immediately. Then in light of what they just learned Sara began formulating a story to tell the messengers from Big Shimaron when they arrived to explain the damage. And while the story he came up with was pretty clever Sara didn't anticipate what happened once the messengers _did_ arrive…

"I believe you know why we have come here, King Saralegui," the first messenger stated once they reached the threshold of his throne, including Janis standing silently behind the two of them.

"Tell us where the Demon King is currently located. As well as what happened to the girl dressed in black and white that we have heard reports was last seen being brought here to your castle after she single-handedly defeated the monster we faced. His Highness demands to know who she is, and what she has to do with those creatures and the Demon King. And more importantly, he wants to know why would you even _think_ to ally yourself with the likes of _them_," the other said distastefully.

"He came here to threaten me," Sara replied as-a-matter-of-factually.

"Threaten you?"

"The Demon King tried to threaten me into betraying Big Shimaron and joining the Great Demon Kingdom Alliance..." Sara continued, his eyes quivering sadly, "As for that girl-"

Just then, the doors creaked open a second time and instead of one of his soldiers entering the chamber to give them some kind of news, it was Skye. His eyes widened in surprise because Sara honestly hadn't expected her to return after what happened earlier when Skye must have recalled what he could only assume was a very painful memory.

As she came closer, after seeing that her hair was truly black-though only one of her eyes was instead of both-the messengers tensed and drew their swords. Janis however only watched and waited to see what she planned to do. From the look of it, Skye didn't seem too concerned about the two messengers pointing their swords at her, nor did she look like she had any intention to fight them either. As Janis watched her, the girl's eyes only looked sad and wary as she glanced beyond them towards Sara and Berias.

"What are you doing back here?" Sara asked to finally break the tense silence, making sure to sound both genuinely concerned and yet cautious at the same time.

"I _had_ to come back," Skye answered, sounding very tired. "I thought I was doing the right thing by leading that Heartless away from here but then I realized, I'm the only one who knows what they are and what they're after and you need to know how to fight them too," looking back down at the three men in front of her, Skye continued, "You're the messenger's from that army from before right? If you are then please listen to me, this world is in grave danger because of the Heartless so you need to put aside your petty differences with King Yuri and focus on protecting your people."

"Is that a threat?!" one of the messengers snarled.

Skye looked taken aback for a moment before she took a deep breath and replied, "No, it's a friendly warning because the creature that attacked you isn't the only one of its kind. There are many others, some of them with even greater powers then the one you saw in the field. And more of them will come into being if you don't protect your citizens, because those creatures were once people themselves who've lost their hearts to the darkness. I've seen it happen firsthand," looking to Sara briefly since he knew what Skye actually meant to say, she continued with a new-found authority rising in her voice, "The Heartless destroyed my world and I alone was cast adrift in a sea of stars, protected only by the light of my Keyblade that brought me here. They're afraid of the Keyblade and will stop at nothing to kill me because it has the power to free the hearts they've captured. And if we don't do something to stop them, they'll overrun this world just like they did in my own."

"How do we know we can trust anything your saying?" the other messenger challenged.

Closing her eyes, Skye replied with a hint of exasperation, "Whether you believe me or not doesn't matter, now that the Heartless have entered this world they will only continue to spread and I can tell you right now that they will make no distinction between your people and King Yuri's. Anything with a heart is fair game to them. So will you at least be willing to listen to what I have to say so that you know how to protect yourselves? Because frankly I don't care about what side you're on either. All I care about is having one less Heartless that I have to fight."

After that everyone just stared at her, completely dumbfounded…

As for Janis, he for one-like Sara-was thoroughly impressed that Skye was able to express the urgency of the current situation while also trying to remain as unbiased about Big Shimaron's attempt to start a War with the Demon Tribe as possible even though she clearly didn't know very much about it at all. It was truly a shock for both Janis and the two messengers to learn that this girl was actually from another world and was apparently chased here by those monsters which Skye called the _'Heartless.' _

And as much as they hated to admit it, she was right about one thing. Those horrible black monsters were a force to be reckoned with and it couldn't hurt for them to gather more information about these Heartless. However, that still didn't change the fact that they were also told to find out the whereabouts of the Demon King as well…


End file.
